Darvish pitches well, but Cubs bullpen blows it in 6-5 loss

Cubs starting pitcher Yu Darvish reacts to a call in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in Cincinnati.
Associated press

CINCINNATI -- Yasiel Puig got a chance to redeem his rough night and came through with his biggest moment yet in Cincinnati.

The struggling outfielder hit an RBI single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning Wednesday night, rallying the Reds to a 6-5 victory over the Cubs. He tossed his bat away in celebration and got soaked with ice water by teammates.

"I finally made contact," Puig said. "That was amazing."

The Cubs' stingy bullpen let a solid start by Yu Darvish go to waste. Darvish fanned 11 and Addison Russell hit a 2-run homer -- his first since returning from a 40-game suspension for domestic violence -- to help the Cubs to a 5-3 lead.

Eugenio Suarez's homer off Carl Edwards Jr. tied it in the eighth, only the fourth time the Cubs have blown such a late lead.

The Cubs were encouraged by Darvish's best performance of the season. He allowed 5 hits and a pair of runs in 5⅓ innings at the ballpark where his 2018 season ended.

The right-hander made only 8 starts in his first year with the Cubs. He got a 6-1 victory at Great American Ball Park on May 20 and missed the rest of the season with triceps and elbow problems, leading to surgery on Sept. 12.

He has struggled with his control this season. Back in Cincinnati, Darvish had his first 10-strikeout game since 2017. He didn't walk a batter while throwing 102 pitches and using a nasty slider.

The Cubs knew Darvish would need some time to get back in form after having most of 2018 wiped out.

"In each start, you're seeing something different that you can take away as a positive," catcher Taylor Davis said. "Everything is starting to pinwheel into putting everything together."

Russell and Albert Almora Jr. connected off Sonny Gray, who came to the Reds in an off-season trade with the New York Yankees and has yet to win in 9 starts for the team he rooted for as a youth. Kyle Schwarber also homered.

Puig's had a mostly disappointing debut with the Reds, who got him in an offseason trade with the Dodgers. He was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts when he came to bat in the 10th against Brad Brach (3-1). The bases were loaded and the Cubs used five infielders, hoping for a groundball.

Instead, Puig drove the ball to center -- it smacked off the base of the wall -- and flipped his bat away in celebration. Puig is batting only .212.

"He brings a lot of energy," manager David Bell said. "He absolutely wanted to be up there in that spot. He saw it as an opportunity. He wasn't defensive."

Amir Garrett (3-1) escaped a two-on threat in the 10th inning.

Get articles sent to your inbox.

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.
If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the X in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.